Digital Photography: The Real Deal

On Monday, Digital Photography embarked on a long, flash-filled day trip to the one big city in Massachusetts: Boston. It’s a pretty huge deal, since this is the group’s main day trip where they get the most and the best photos of the two weeks. On Tuesday, Digital Photography students are uploading their photos and picking out their best ones. From what I gather, members of this Winterim all felt as if the trip to Boston was a productive and fun one (see what I did there? Huh? Huh? :D).

Today I decided to find out what the real deal with Digital Photography is. Is there more to this Winterim besides going to random places and taking amazing pictures? What are their plans for the rest of the week? Unfortunately, most of the students were too engrossed in their work for me to talk to them. I did, however, have a chance to interview Mr. Rooney about what the program is going to do for the rest of the week. He said, “Yesterday was a good day, got lots of good pictures. Boston was really our main trip. We might try to squeeze in one more trip tomorrow, maybe Salem. It all depends on the weather. Soon, we’re going to do some still life and studio portraits, and then we’re finished.”

I also asked Mr. Rooney if he had any sort of specific things for his students to look for and take photos of. “There isn’t really anything specific. Mainly, in the past weeks I’ve been trying to get them to differentiate between what makes a good photo and what doesn’t. That’s what these day trips are about, really. We see cityscapes, portraits. We’ve seen lots of the works of other photographers. We call them ‘masters of photography’. Later on they’re going to write a report on a photographer that they choose, so we’ll be discussing that more to”

Check out the slideshow above which showcases some of the best photos taken by this group! Enjoy their work; it's outstanding. :)

New Best Friends: Richard the Cat and Cherry the Pig

Today was a very nice and relaxing day. We started out by cleaning the cat rooms in CalMar, a house for cats with Feline Leukemia. It is similar to AIDS for humans because it is a virus that attacks their immune system and in their bones, but it's for cats, and other shelters euthanize the cats that they have with Feline Leukemia. Contrary to what other shelters think, cats can live many years with this disease, so Best Friends doesn't euthanize them and gives them a chance to live a longer, happier life. After cleaning the rooms, we played with the cats. One of our all-time favorite cats was Richard who was very playful and loved to give "hugs", where he would stand on his hind legs and put his front two legs on you. After working with cats we had a very nice lunch and tanned outside for a while to relax even more. We proceeded to the doggie headquarters and learned how to clicker train dogs. It was a new experience for some of us and a normal practice for others. The trainer that taught us was very knowledgeable about all things dog and was able to answer all of our questions, including Kristina's question as to how to get her dog to stop barking for attention, a very difficult thing to cure apparently, but manageable. Once we all got the hang of the clicker training and all the questions were answered, we went to trail repairing. We went along "The Garden Loop" and cleared the trail so it was void of anything but sand, got rid of all visible dog poop, and made the edges of the trail clear so no one would get confused of where to go. It was a very relaxing day compared to other days of shoveling, raking, and other such tasks. Looking to the near future, tonight is going to be very exciting for all of us because we have a very adorable pig by the name of Cherry, spending the night with us. Everyone can come in and visit, but Ali, Julia, Sarah, and I (Kelsey) have the privilege of having her in our room for the night. Opposite to what most people think, pigs are very clean, very cute, and very well behaved. Attached is a picture of the "CherBear" as we like to call her. We are all having a blast here, but we also can't wait to be home soon!

Ridin' Dirty in AZ

We've received an email late last night from Emily, a member of the Mountain Biking in Arizona group. The email gave us a detailed description of what the group has done since departing, until the end of their day yesterday. If you would like to read the full text of their journal, check it out at Google Docs. This write up is only a quick look at their experience with a few photos we found from websites.

Travel Day:

They arrived at their KOA Campground in Apache Junction, AZ on Monday, 3/7/11. After grabbing some subs (Jake ate 2 foot long subs!) and moving into their cabins they drove 45 minutes to pick up the bikes.

Photo from campground KOA web site.

Day 1: Hooked up trailer, and headed up to the Sonoran Desert. first ride was at McDowell Mountain Regional Park

Photo from a travel website.

Link to photo in Picasa

Day 2:

Brought the bikes up to Usery Mountain Regional Park. Alvaro got two flat tires.



Photo Link at Google Images



Day 3: Biked at a more scenic route at McDowell Mountain regional park. Alvaro flipped off of his bike, and cut his elbow and knee.

Day 4:

Drove an hour and a half to the Tonto national monument. Hiked up the side of the mountain.

Photo Link at Google Images

Day 5: Brought bikes to South Mountain Park. Went from flat, to extreme up and down hill terrains.

Photo found at travel site.



Day 6: Visited an Arboretum to learn abou the different kinds of cacti.

Day 7: At at a waffle house and then went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. There were lots of desert animals there.

Remember to read the entire journal entry of this group visit Google Docs.

Brushing it Off

Watermedia has worked on a few different projects. They've each done a porch, a painting of their choice, and most are either finishing a boat or have already finished. Above is Morgan Bakstran's finished painting of Drake, and Melanie Bosselait's finished painting of a boat. The group has been to museums and watched movies on painting to further their learning about watermedia.

Discovery of Hidden Depths

The students in Belize, who participate in Underwater Discovery Winterim are now having great fun on a yellow beach of South Water Caye. On the first day, they had orientation and learned about the marine ecology of the Caribbean sea. Also students had the chance to snorkel a bit and explore a nearby city. They practiced their water skills and made a great preparation for the depths of the mighty ocean. They had several important swimming tests and passed a final exam. On Saturday they started their project and visited the Smithsonian. On Sunday they were at Bird Caye and had a fish quiz.

"Taking a Break from Reality" with the Hit Single Machine

Since day one, the Hit Single Machine has been working hard and made crazy progress as a result. Now, in the beginning of week two, their song is finished (actually, it’s kind of finished, as I’m told by some group members) and they’ve been in the recording studio pulling the song together. I was able to catch a glimpse of the song, and it was good. Like, INSANELY good. Standing outside the recording studio, the thick wooden door couldn’t stop me from hearing the upbeat, exuberant song loud and clear. The catchy beat, amazing vocals, and creative lyrics seriously caught my interest (I only heard a vocal recording session). Although some things that I heard were questionable, such as insane laughter and screaming, I was left wanting to hear more after they were done.

Some students, after the recording session, evaluated their progress and filled me in on how things were going. Sam exclaimed, “We recorded in the dark! It was so much fun, and we couldn’t see anything.” When I asked Sam about the group’s progress, he said, “It turned out longer then we expected it to be -- about three minutes long. We haven’t completely finished it, but we’ll be working until the last minute and will be making the music video. We’re just playing around with it, really.”

I also spoke with Jamarcus, who was pretty happy about the song’s turnout. “I was surprised, but in a good way,” he said. “For one, it was supposed to be a pop song, but it kind of turned out to be a mix of pop, R&B, and jazz. But I like it. Hopefully we’ll be done by Friday for the assembly, but I’m sure it’s going to work out just fine.”

Finally, I ended by talking to Nano, who played the bass guitar and “did the intro” for the song. I also asked him what he thought of the song’s progress and he responded with, “I think it’s pretty good. I mean, we’re just, like, amateurs, but we’re having fun. The song’s a different kind of pop, has a different concept, which I like.”

The completed song will be shown at the assembly on Friday, and I, for one, cannot wait to hear the finished product. If you’re interested to see the Hit Single Machine’s progress more regularly, check out their Tumblr, Twitter, or Youtube accounts. The links are on the left sidebar of the blog.

The Hypnotist

Last night we had a hypnotist come in to LA and hypnotize some of the LA students. Golden Horse was told to get mad at the Hypnotist every time he heard Lorenzo, and that is exactly what he did. During the part of the show when they had to race horses Islambec chose to kill the other horses and was disqualified for it. The show was funny and entertaining, but the students seemed to like the first hypnotist better who was here this past fall term.

One More Happy Day with Mrs. Poulin

Today, we had a wonderful day. All of us wrote one or two articles about our Winterim groups. Sarah, Sean, and I went to help Tyler’s Winterim group (The Hit Single Machine) for taking his video. Mrs. Poulin helped David with his articles. Everyone is happy about what they did today. Mrs. Poulin is taking a break and she is mad about the mess we made around in class.

Tomorrow we are going to Boston. Everybody is looking forward to the field trip. We will have Dunkin Donuts sandwiches and orange juice for breakfast. The worst thing about tomorrow is that we'll have to wake up early at 6:45.

The Horror - Waters wraps up film production

(Written by The Horror, The Horror Winterim Group)

The dead mouse, spiders and dark corners in the basement were not enough to deter our intrepid crew today as we wrapped up production on our short horror film. 'Mary', far from contrary, shows her white-shrouded form as she helps our bullied hero exact revenge upon the hapless tormentors. The editing phase begins in earnest tomorrow, and plans are in the works for a slew of extras to partake in a final auditorium scene. Stay tuned!

Yoga: Found at Last!

Today the yoga group had a visitor. Mr. Dolan came to talk to the students about yoga -- in particular, sitting meditation . He talked to the class for about 30 minutes, telling them about yoga and his story with it; then he answered questions that the students had about yoga, strength, and the connection between body and mind. This was an interesting class to observe because I learned a lot about yoga and the art of it. I learned that there are many types of yoga as well as many sequences. I also heard that yesterday the group took a trip to a spa/ yoga class off campus. The students were exhausted by the 3 hour driver (each way) to get there, but they said the class was well worth the trip. Kim, the group's teacher, seemed to be enjoying her class and she welcomed me in to see what they were doing and how they spend their days. It was very nice to see what they do.

Gone A Kayaking

After a week of hiking and paddling off the east coast of Florida, the kayaking group is nearing the end of their journey. Yesterday the group had an orientation with a naturalist who took them on a hike and taught them about plants and trees in the Seminole State Park, and about the relationship between the birds and the plants. Today the group kayaked down the upper Wekiva River. Tomorrow, the last day of the groups travel, will be spent kayaking from the lower Wekiva River to the St. John River. On Thursday the group will head to airport to end the trip.

Working for Free

Yesterday (the seventh day of Winterim), I interviewed one students, YoungJeong, from Korea, who is part of the "Total Mountain Experience" program. He told me about how they work on the ski mountain for two hours each day in different places every day. From one day to the next, they might work in the ski or shift shop:

They might also work in the cafeteria with Joe, the professional cook:

... or in customer service.

Everyday when students finish their job, they are allowed to take a break and ski on Wachusett Mountain. Though not compensated for their work, the students gain valuable experience in the service industry.

Comment plz and Thanks for reading this blog!!!

Oh My! It's not Kansas! It's the Amazon!

Yesterday (3/14) we heard from the Andes and Amazon adventure group through an e-mail that Barrett Kelly (a student on this trip) sent us. This is the e-mail that was sent to us the night before they headed into the Amazon Basin. They had one night of internet access throughout the whole trip, and one of the e-mails was to us.
Link to this picture:

"Today we took a yonder through the terrain of Ecuador. As a goal for the trip we decided to undergo a very difficult hike to test ourselves boyh mentally and physically. The hike started out farely easy as we walked over the flat green grasses. Evem though the terrain wasnt the steepest the altitude did a number on us. Once the hike started to get steeoer and steeper it became harder to continue in the journey. As we got higher and higher up the view became more and more beautiful. The mountains were a sight that could not be beaten by anything we had seen before or so we thought until we reached the top. At the very top of the hike there was a crater filled with a deep solid blue that made the exhaustion of thr hike melt away in seconds.

We took a hopefully-cover photo for the Winterim booklet and continued our hike for another hour. By then, every little hill seemed like the end of the world. I heard my breath going so loud that I even got scared of it. But finally, WE MADE IT!!! When I saw the bus, me and others just sprinted to it, got in and laughed so hard for the relief. David drove us to La Posada de Tigua where we were greeted by the nicest people ever. I took a hot shower for the first time in the week and played Mafia with the group for a good long time before dinner. The meal was delicious like I expected it and had just an amazing time with the table. At night we all just hung out and had a very good bonding time with everyone."

Sounds like a fun two weeks in the Amazon! Thanks for the E-mail Barrett!